William Bickerton
William Bickerton | |
---|---|
3rd President of the Church The Church of Jesus Christ | |
July 1862 – July 1880 | |
Predecessor | Sidney Rigdon |
Successor | William Cadman |
Personal details | |
Born | Kyloe, Northumberland, England | January 15, 1815
Died | February 17, 1905 St. John, Kansas, United States | (aged 90)
Resting place | Fairview Park Cemetery 38°00′28″N 98°44′45″W / 38.0078°N 98.7457°W |
Spouse(s) | Dorothy Breminger (1843–1863) Charlotte Rodgers Hibbs (1863–1880) |
Children | By Dorothy James Bickerton Eliza Ann Clara Virginia Angeline Ann Josephine Florence By Charlotte William Alma |
Parents | Thomas Bickerton Isabella Hope |
William Bickerton (January 15, 1815 – February 17, 1905) was a leader in the Latter Day Saint movement after the 1844 succession crisis. In 1862, Bickerton became the founding president of the church now known as The Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite), which is one of many churches that claim to be a continuation of the Church of Christ founded by Joseph Smith Jr in 1830.
Early life
Bickerton was born in Kyloe, Northumberland, England, the seventh of twelve children of Thomas Bickerton (1762-1828) and Isabella Hope Bickerton (1781-1857). Bickerton immigrated to the United States on June 20, 1831 and became a coal miner in, first, Virginia and then Pennsylvania.[1]
Follower of Sidney Rigdon
Following
Bickerton was not a
At a general conference of the church held that fall in
Establishing The Church of Jesus Christ
Bickerton remained in Monongahela, Pennsylvania, and never moved to Greencastle with Rigdon. By April 1847, the Adventure Farm community had collapsed and Rigdon had abandoned his followers. Bickerton described his situation upon the collapse of the Rigdonite church:
The Church [had become] disorganized. Here I was left to myself. I paused to know what course to pursue. I knew my calling was from Heaven, and I also knew that a man cannot build up the Church of Christ without divine commandment from the Lord, for it would only be sectarianism, and man's authority. But the Lord did not leave me; no, he showed me a vision, and in the vision I was on the highest mountain on the earth; and he told me that if I did not preach the gospel I would fall into a dreadful chasm below, the sight thereof was awful. I moved with fear, having the Holy Spirit with me. Here I was, none to assist me, and without learning, popular opinion against me, and the Salt Lake Mormons stood in the way. I could not turn back unto Methodism again. No, I knew they had not the gospel. I stood in contemplation. The chasm was before me, no other alternative but to do my duty to God and man. I went ahead preaching repentance towards God, and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Some believed my testimony and were baptized, and we met together [and] the Lord met with us ....[9]
Bickerton maintained his faith in the
Bickerton engaged in public preaching and met with his growing congregation in houses and, by the end of 1854, his church had around 60 members.[13][14]
On 5 July 1859, Bickerton was ordained as head of the church by his followers and called a
Life in Kansas and a schism in the church
At a conference in 1872 in West Elizabeth, Bickerton was chosen to spend the remainder of his days on missionary work. His missionary endeavors culminated in 1875: Bickerton, accompanied by approximately 35 to 40 families of the church, moved to
In June 1879, charges of adultery were brought against Bickerton by a member of the church in Kansas and the accuser pressed the issue at a church meeting in 1880[10][20] A local church council decision on 7 July 1880 went against Bickerton and his membership of the church was revoked along with all his callings whilst at the same time anyone who spoke in his defence was excommunicated.[10][21] Bickerton maintained his innocence but Cadman believed the accusations leading to the two of them holding rival church conferences in St. John in July 1880.[22] On 15 July 1880 Cadman began a public inquiry into the accusations but left for Pennsylvania when it ruled Bickerton innocent of adultery.[23] Following this Bickerton continued leading his followers, a majority of whom were in Kansas, in opposition to Cadman, whose followers were mainly in Pennsylvania.[24][25]
In the 1890s Bickerton and his followers made repeated missionary trips to Oklahoma to attempt to convert Native Americans into his church[26] which was referred to colloquially as the "Stafford County Saints".[27]
In 1902, he reconciled with Cadman and was reinstated in the church with Cadman now the undisputed leader (though Bickerton considered his own leadership to have ended in 1902 not 1880) and Bickerton remained a faithful church member until he died on February 17, 1905, a week after suffering injuries in a fire.[28]
Marriage and family
Bickerton married Dorothy Breminger (1826-1863) in 1843 in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania; the couple had one son, James, and five daughters: Eliza Ann, Clara Virginia, Angeline Ann, Josephine, and Florence. After the death of Dorothy, Bickerton married his second wife, Charlotte Rodgers Morgan Hibbs (1819-1895), on July 8, 1863. Charlotte bore him one child, William Alma. Charlotte briefly moved to Kansas to join her husband when he founded Zion Valley but moved back to Pennsylvania in 1877. Bickerton sued for divorce from her in 1880 and this was granted on 27 August 1880.[29]
Bickerton died at St. John, Stafford County, Kansas, at the age of 90 as a member and leader of the church he organized in 1862. He is buried in the Fairview Cemetery in St. John.
See also
Notes
- ^ Stone (2018, pp. 10–12)
- OCLC 5436337.
- History of the Church, vol. 7, ch. 18.
- Archive-It". Strangite.org. Retrieved on 2007-10-28.
- ^ Stone (2018, p. 26)
- ^ Entz (2006, p. 2)
- ^ Stone (2018, pp. 29–31)
- ^ Bickerton, William (1975). William Bickerton's Testimony. Monongahela, Pennsylvania: The Church of Jesus Christ.
- ^ Bickerton, William, The Ensign, Pittsburgh: W. Bickerton, 1863, p. 10, quoted in History of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 1890, 3:74.
- ^ ISBN 0-8103-7714-4pp. 580–581.
- ^ a b c Stone (2018, pp. 50–51)
- ^ A History of The Church of Jesus Christ: Volume 2. Monongahela, Pennsylvania: The Church of Jesus Christ. 2002.
- ^ a b Lovalvo, V James (1986). Dissertation on the Faith and Doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ. (Bridgewater, Michigan: The Church of Jesus Christ), pp. 115–116.
- ^ Stone (2018, pp. 67–69)
- ^ Stone (2018, pp. 88–89)
- ^ Stone (2018, p. 127)
- ^ Entz (2006, p. 6)
- ^ Entz (2006, pp. 6–8)
- ^ Stone (2018, p. 198)
- ^ Stone (2018, pp. 217–219)
- ^ Stone (2018, pp. 223–224)
- ^ Entz (2006, p. 11)
- ^ Entz (2006, p. 13)
- ^ Entz (2006, p. 15)
- ^ Stone (2018, p. 227)
- ^ Entz (2006, p. 38)
- ^ Entz (2006, p. 39)
- ^ Entz (2006, pp. 41–43)
- ^ Stone (2018, pp. 230–231)
References
- Stone, Daniel P. (2018) [2018], William Bickerton: Forgotten Latter Day Prophet, Salt Lake City, Utah, US: Signature Books, OCLC 1021065465
- Entz, Gary R. (2006). "The Bickertonites: Schism and Reunion in a Restoration Church, 1880-1905". Journal of Mormon History. 32. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
- William Bickerton, The Ensign, Pittsburgh: W. Bickerton, 1863, quoted in History of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 1890, 3:73-76.
- Joyce Bickerton Pilgrim, Descendants of Thomas Bickerton, 2003.
- Gary R. Entz, "Zion Valley: The Mormon Origins of St. John, Kansas," Kansas History 24 (summer 2001), 98–117.